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DRYERS SHOULD KNOW WHEN TO STOP A merican consumers don’t have the benefit of an Energy Star label or even energy-guide label to help them choose the most efficient dryer. That’s because there aren’t big efficiency differences between dryers of the same size. If you’re serious about using less energy, and aren’t willing to rely on a clothesline, check Energy Star in Canada’s energy-use listings (www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/energystar). Regardless of whether a dryer runs on electricity or natural gas, the most important feature to look for is a moisture sensor. This little bar in the drum registers the water content of the fabric as the tumbling clothes slap against the bar. You decide the air temperature, and the moisture sensor controls the cycle duration. Once the clothes are dry, the sensor shuts the dryer off, reducing unnecessary wear on your clothes. You can “see” the moisture sensor in action by watching the dryer’s timeremaining display. When a dryer begins a normal cycle, the display will show something like 50 minutes remaining. About 10 minutes later, however, the display might show 15 minutes remaining. The dryer’s computer updates the cycle duration based on the amount of moisture left in the clothes. This uses less energy than the traditional approach of having each cycle run for a set amount of time. The presence of a moisture sensor gen- erally means clothes are dry when the cycle is done, saving you the hassle of running another cycle. Occasionally, with No duct needed Condensing dryers capture and store or drain moisture rather then venting hot, moist air to the outside. They are generally used in small apartments and town houses where venting is difficult. This dryer has a compact 24-in.-wide cabinet and is designed to be stacked with an integrated outlet for the washing machine. The condensate is pumped to the standpipe, although other models collect the water in a container that can be emptied manually. To prevent wrinkles from developing, this dryer continues to rotate the drum at specific intervals for up to two hours after the cycle ends. Model: Bosch WTE86300US Price: list $1249/street $990 large, bulky items such as heavy blankets, you’ll find damp portions within folds after the cycle is done because these portions can’t hit the moisture sensor. Some dryers also monitor the incoming and outgoing air temperature to prevent this. Damp fabric in the load reduces the air temperature. If the outgoing air is cooler than the incoming air, the dryer will continue running even if the moisture sensor indicates that the load is dry. Air-temperature monitoring is beneficial for small loads, too, because the clothes won’t often hit the moisture sensor. Wrinkle-reducing options Dryers should treat clothing gently and eliminate wrinkles. The moisture sensor Is bigger better? In an ideal world, washer and dryer sizes would be described in meaningful terms. Instead, they’re described in cubic feet. (At least the industry standardized its methodology in 2011 so that sizes are comparable across brands.) Even worse is the convention of describing the capacity of a washer as the number of pounds of clothes it holds. This may be why manufacturers resort to marketing copy like “Wash up to 31 bath towels in a single load.” (Great, if you’re running a hotel.) When choosing a washer size, consider whether your household tends to do small loads frequently or large loads just 84 FINE HOMEBUILDING a few times a week. It’s most efficient to run full loads, so choose a smaller machine if you do frequent, small loads and a large machine if you wait for dirty clothes to pile up. If your old washer has just died or is on its last legs, it’s likely 10 to 12 years old. In the early 1990s, the largest washers were between 2.8 and 3.0 cu. ft. These days, washers under 3.0 cu. ft. are considered small, 3.0 to 3.5 cu. ft. medium, 3.5 to 4.0 cu. ft. large, and over 4.0 cu. ft. extralarge. If you’ve been doing multiple large loads on wash day, a 4.0-cu.-ft. or greater capacity washer could reduce the number of loads. limits the amount of hot air clothes are subjected to. Additionally, look for—and use—cycles that have a cool-down feature (often called perma-press). Working in conjunction with the moisture sensor, the cool-down function turns off the heating element for the last portion of the cycle and uses the residual heat to warm the air. This reduces fatigue on fabrics, saves a bit of energy, and can reduce wrinkles on some fabrics. Bosch tries to improve fabric care by slightly decreasing air temperature and increasing air volume. The entire back of the drum is perforated for greater airflow, whereas a typical dryer has a small cluster of holes for an air inlet. Each manufacturer touts features in its drum